MAN AND HIS ENVIRONMENT

1.Men do not live in a vacuum. Men are being surrounded by all kinds of things. Air, water and earth are the common neighbours of men. Men need these things for their preservation and pro-creation.

2.These natural elements can sometime become men's natural enemies when they emerge as destructive natural forces like great floods and strong wind. Men would have no means of eliminating all together these natural disasters which are threatening the very existent of men. All they could do is to minimise the damage that they have to suffer.

3.Men are known to be living in societies. And society is another kind of surrounding to men. Men can only have such amount of freedom so as not to threaten the existence of the society in which they live.

4.Political and legal environment would affect the way of living of the people within the society. You could argue that they are only products of human convention and thus could be changed by the maker. This could be true in theory. But it is impossible in fact.

THE PLACE OF ORIGIN OF MAN

1.No man can know the place of origin of man. But some people think that they are different. They think that they know their place of origin and also the place of origin of other people.

2.Since these people assert that they know their place of origin, they must submit themselves to be examined dialectically.

3.Logically these people should also know the place of origin of their ancestors. The series would end with their first ancestors. As to the origin of their first ancestors, they must choose either to say that they have other place of origin or that they just grew out of the earth just like the banana tree.

4.To say that they originated from some other place is to start the process all over again. And this could be repeated ad infinitum, which is absurd.

5.To say that they grew out of the earth is equally absurd.

6.It is absurd therefore to say that they know the place of origin of man. They are ignorant as to their own place of origin.

THE PRIME MINISTER AND THE CONSTITUTION

1.According to Article 43(2)(a) of the Constitution of Malaysia, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall first appoint as Prime Minister to preside over the Cabinet a member of the House of Representatives who in his judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House.

2.The practical way of doing this is to gain control of the Parliament. And this could be done through the participation of political parties and by extension through a partnership among political parties. The bigger you are, the stronger you would be.

3.The side which has the majority of the seats in Parliament would naturally control Parliament. And it follows that in order to gain seats you must first win over the votes of the people.

4.In the final analysis, due to the nature of Article 43(2)(a) of the Constitution, the Prime Minister would remain in the office as long as the political parties in partnership are able to deliver enough votes from the people. Once a clear majority is obtained, the choice of the King could be easily defended.

5.But the most difficult part of the job is to win over the votes of the people.

6.Logically the people would support the political party which could serve the interests of the people. But it is always easy to state than to bring it into effect.

7.However the job would be made easy if each of the political parties in partnership could represent their respective people.

8.However in a democratic system the votes belong absolutely to the people and only the people could decide who they want to be the Government.

FEAR OF DEATH

1.What is death? Death is the deprivation of life. When life ceases to exist in a living body, death comes into being. What is life? Life is something that is present in all self-moving things. A duck is a self-moving thing. But a stone is not a self-moving thing. From the biological point of view death is a destruction, but this not so from the religious point of view.

2.Some people do not fear death because they believe that death is just like house shifting. From a not so good house we shift to a better house. From a not so perfect world we shift to the perfect world.

3.Others do not fear death because they believe that death is actually not death as death is instantaneously replaced by life. The moment you are dead in one body you are alive again in another body. And this process would go on until you reach the perfect state.

4.Death is not feared because we believe that the SELF which is present in all of us is immortal. We solve this problem of death by proving that death is an illusion; when death does not exist, fear of death also does not exist.

THE TRUTH AND THE ILLUSION

1.We have been trained from young to always speak the truth. We have been taught from young that the truth would always prevail. We are safe if we always seek refuge in the truth.

2.The Geek philosophers were interested in nothing but the truth. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle are well known for their endless search for the truth. Socrates found the truth in the Definition. Plato found the truth in the heavenly Forms. Aristotle found the truth in the Substance.

3.The religious teachers found the truth in God.

4.The politicians want us to see only the truth and nothing else.

5.Growing up and living in the environment of truth we naturally become part of it. We never think of moving out of the place because we never know that there exists a place called outside.

6.In fact, the sceptics are existing side by side with the truth seekers. If we are lucky we may meet philosophy and philosophy would help us to meet the sceptics.

7.The sceptics would attack the very foundation on which the truth seekers stand: the senses. Once senses are being questioned, it becomes impossible to decide the controversy. There would be no judge left to decide the controversy. Senses can not be the judge because they are also parties to the controversy.

8.The Illusion, the hidden rival of the Truth, has finally been revealed by philosophy. While the Truth would sometimes make us lose confidence,the Illusion on the contrary would always bring us confidence. The Illusion could also help us to think out of the box.

ENDLESS CONTROVERSY

1.When we read the books on philosophy, we could easily discover that the philosophers are disputing with each other endlessly. The realists would dispute with the idealists. To the realists the external objects are known directly by applying our senses on them. But the idealists would not agree with this. To the idealists what we know are only ideas in our head. We have no basis to talk about external objects.

2. There is no solution to this controversy because the claims of both the idealists and the realists could neither be proved nor disproved. They are relying on the same instrument of knowing i.e. the senses. When the sense of sight is in question, for example, we can't use any other sense of sight to settle the dispute, because every sense of sight is a party to the dispute.

3.The ordinary man would not think that there is any problem at all. Of course I know that the sun exists. I can feel that it is now burning my skin. I can only take a quick look at it if I do not want my eyes to be blinded by it.

4.But how do we prove that what we see is actually what we are seeing ? To confirm, we must compare the two objects, but this is impossible.

PARTI POLITIK DAN PILIHANRAYA

1.Mengapa parti politik mengambil bahagian dalam pilihanraya? Ada dua sebab: ingin membentuk kerajaan atau ingin sekadar menjadi pembangkang.

2.Parti politik yang besar apabila berjaya mendapat kerusi majoriti boleh membentuk kerajaan untuk memerintah sesebuah negeri di mana pilihanraya diadakan.

3.Parti politik yang kekuatannya terhad dan tidak cukup untuk menjadi pemerintah akan meminta supaya diberi peranan sebagai pembangkang.

4.Mengapa harus adanya pembangkang? Monarki adalah merupakan bentuk kerajaan yang awal sesebuah negara yang berdaulat. Kuasa mutlak berada pada seseorang raja yang memerintah. Oleh kerana terjadinya perkara-perkara yang buruk seperti ketidakadilan, penyalahgunaan kuasa dan sebagainya, maka rakyat telah menuntut supaya mereka diperintah melalui sistem demokrasi.

5.Dalam sistem demokrasi, kuasa berada di tangan rakyat. Kerajaan dipilih oleh rakyat. Tetapi kerajaan juga ada yang baik dan ada juga yang tidak baik. Dalam hal ini pembangkang mempunyai tanggungjawab yang berat untuk membantu rakyat. Tugas pembangkang adalah untuk membawa kepada pengetahuan rakyat akan perkara-perkara tidak baik yang telah dilakukan oleh kerajaan. Kalau dilihat dari segi falsafah politik dan kerajaan, pemerintah dan pembangkang sama-sama bekerja untuk kebaikan rakyat.

HILANG KEPERCAYAAN HILANGLAH SEGALA-GALANYA

1.Masyarakat kita kebelakangan ini hangat memperkatakan tentang gejala berlompat-lompatan yang sedang berlaku di kalangan wakil-wakil rakyat kita. Secara tiba-tiba di sana ada orang melompat. Dan di sini pula ada yang ikut sama. Seronok umpama berpestalah mereka yang terlibat. Tetapi rakyat macam mana?

2.Semasa berkempen untuk memikat hati rakyat calon memberitahu rakyat yang dia adalah wakil partinya. Dia akan membawa perjuangan yang dibawa oleh partinya. Semasa berpidato musuh-musuhnya diserang habis-habisan. Rakyat bersorak : inilah jaguh kami. Lalu dia menang dan jadilah dia wakil rakyat. Wakil untuk apa? Wakil untuk melaksanakan janji-janji yang telah ditabur kepada rakyat.

3.Tiba-tiba,tanpa diduga olek rakyat wakil rakyat ini meninggalkan partinya. Maka peninglah rakyat dibuatnya, siapa kawan siapa lawan tidak dapat dipastikan lagi. Yang dipilih oleh rakyat calon juga partinya. Kerana itulah yang dijaja ke hulu dan ke hilir siang dan malam.

4.Kalau dah tak mampu, eloklah berundur. Biar rakyat memilih orang lain yang mampu melaksanakan janji.

5.Kekuatan yang ada pada sesebuah parti politik adalah jauh lebih besar daripada kekuatan yang ada pada mana-mana ahli parti politik itu. Sebab itu calon bebas tidak dapat bersaing dengan calon-calon yang mewakili parti. Rakyat memang arif akan kebenaran ini.

6.Berseronok juga ada batasannya. Jangan sampai rakyat hilang kepercayaan kepada prinsip demokrasi. Apabila rakyat menolaknya akan huru-haralah masyarakat kita. Harus kita ingat bahawa sesuatu institusi itu hanya dapat berfungsi jika ianya dipegang oleh rakyat. Kita ikut undang-undang kerana kita percaya orang lain juga akan mengikutnya. Kalau semua orang percaya yang semua orang tidak akan ikut undang-undang, maka semua orang tidak akan ikut undang-undang.

MEMORIAL TOKOH KEMERDEKAAN TUN TAN CHENG LOCK

1.Ada cerdik pandai yang berpendapat bahawa kita tidak perlu mendirikan memorial untuk Tun Tan Cheng Lock kerana ini akan menyebabkan adanya orang-orang lain yang akan menuntut supaya memorial-memorial juga dibina untuk tokoh-tokoh yang lain atas alasan bahawa keadaannya adalah sama.

2.Tetapi keadaannya adalah tidak sama. Tun Tan Cheng Lock adalah tokoh MCA yang bersama-sama dengan tokoh-tokoh UMNO dan MIC yang telah berjuang untuk kemerdekaan negara kita. Umum tahu bahawa UMNO, MCA dan MIC telah membawa kemerdekaan kepada negara kita.

3.Tidak ada benda dalam hidup kita sebagai manusia yang lebih penting daripada mendapat kembali kebebasan yang telah hilang. Kebebasan adalah hak asasi untuk seluruh makhluk yang dinamakan manusia. Jadi tidaklah perlu dibimbangkan akan adanya tuntutan-tuntutan dari pihak lain.

4.Juga kedengaran seolah-olahnya ada percubaan untuk mengatakan bahawa kita tidak pernah dijajah. Tidak ujud penjajahan, tidak juja ujud kemerdekaan. Tidak ujud kemerdekaan, tidak juga ujud orang-orang yang berjuang untuk kemerdekaan. Maka memorialnya tidak diperlukan lagi. Ini alasan yang mudah dibuat.

5.Tetapi, pada 31 Ogos 1957 kita merdeka. Seluruh rakyat Malaysia tahu tentang hal ini. Setiap tahun semenjak 31 Ogos 1957 kita merayakan hari kemerdekaan. Ini kita lakukan secara besar-besaran. Bolehkah kita nafikan fakta ini ? Kalau sekarang kita merdeka, maka logiknya dahulu kita dijajah.

6.Sememangnya tidak berasaslah kebimbangan yang dirasai oleh cerdik pandai kita itu.

7.Sebenarnya adalah tidak salah kalau kita mendirikan memorial untuk mengenang jasa tokoh kemerdekaan MCA Tun Tan Cheng Lock.

MAY 13 AND 1 MALAYSIA

1.May 13 is a divisive force and has divided our country into various fragments. When a country is being fragmented, the danger of it being invaded by it's enemies is always there.

2.Our country had been colonised by the Western forces for many decade and for that long we have been slaves.

3.Lately our enemies and or our own people(unwittingly) appear to be making effort to revive May 13 divisive force.

4.It is fortunate and also timely that our new Prime Minister produces 1 Malaysia. 1 Malaysia is a unifying force that could bind us Malaysians of all races together into one people.

5.To safeguard our status as free-man we must all accept 1 Malaysia.

INTELLECT & APPETITE

1.We claim that appetite is something that we have in common with the animals. We desire for various kinds of pleasure of the body just like the animals do. Food,drink and sex are the familiar items.

2.We also claim that intellect belongs exclusively to man. Animals have no share of this good thing. Some philosophers equate man without intellect with the animals. Intellect is supreme in Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

3.Some people have now claimed that we have lately given too much priority to the satisfaction of our appetite. We have neglected our intellect and have left our intellect sufferring from starvation.

THE POWERFUL

1.In the State of Nature the more powerful animals would rule over the less powerful animals. The powerful are always chasing and the weak are always being chased.

2.The ancient kings could rule their people because they are the powerful.The kings were the movers while the people were the moved.

3.In modern days the Government is the powerful as the whole force of the society is in it's hands. This force is being used to enforce the law and also to defend the society from external aggresion. Political parties as the foundation of Government would have their share of power.

4.What is the benefit of being the powerful? The answer: When a strong wind blows, the grass would all bend in obedient to the command of the wind. But the same wind would have not enough power to bend the majestic Egyptian pyramids.

DESCATES: GUILTY OF CIRCULAR PROOF ?

1.Descartes in trying to prove that he exists says: I think, therefore I am. But this appears to be defective by being a circular reasoning. The thing to be proved is " I exist" and the proof used by Descartes is "I think." The thing is being confirmed by itself.

2. Some philosophers before Descartes, particularly Gorgias, claim that we are unable to know whether or not we exist. We are in doubt as to whether we are now awake or are now dreaming. Logically, there is no proof one way or another. The most extreme are the Academic Sceptics who claim that knowledge is impossible. But this is clearly self-refuting.

3.If Descartes's proof is in fact defective by being circular, we are again back to the philosophy of Gorgias.

THE CRITERION OF THE JUDGES

1.In any election for position in any organisation, there would be voters and candidates. Voters are regarded as the more important because they are the judges and the candidates are the judged.

2.In Parliamentary elections and also in States elections the potential candidates would first study the voters that they have to face before making decision whether or not to submit themselves to be judged by the voters. In a Malay majority area, a Malay candidate is believed to stand a better chance of winning. Similarly in a Chinese majority area, a Chinese candidate has a better opportunity.

3.According to Plato only wise people are qualified to be leaders. Other qualities are irrelevant.

4.However, the fact is that the people would be making the judgment. The criterion of the people is still the paramount consideration.

LUA KUN ENG

1.What is my identity? David Hume seems to suggest that a person's identity is nothing more than a bundle of sensations and feelings connected together by memory.

2.Sensations are the affections of my sense organs caused by the external objects. Affections and the external objects are said to be related as cause and effect. As cause and effect are not the same, affections and external objects are also not the same. Affections are therefore occurrences in me.

3.Feelings are also occurrences in me and are totally private to me. No amount of observation of my behaviour could reveal my true feelings.

4.According to the above therefore when my memory is lost, my identity would also be lost. But this is not totally true. I still have an external identity. My external identity is not dependent on my memory, but on the memory of the people who know me.

5.When all memories are lost, all identities are also lost.

POLITICAL LEADERS AND THEIR FOLLOWERS

1.Political leaders can remain in their position because they have followers. It appears that some kind of a bond exists between these two groups of people. What is the nature of this bond?

2.Some people would say that this bond is of the nature of benefit. Followers of political leaders are following the political leaders because they receive some kind of benefit. So long as benefit exists the folloeing will continue and yhe political leaders can remain in their position. Political leaders must therefore work very hard to ensure the continuous and uninterrupted supply of benefit. This is the way of an ancient king.

3.However, some people would think otherwise. Ancient kings have been constantly replaced. The nature of the bond is not benefit but the end of their struggle. Political leaders usually have objective for theie struggle. The followers are actually following the objective, not the person of the political leaders.

4.But one thing is common. The following is voluntary in nature. The followers of the political leaders are free to choose the kind of political leaders that they wish to follow.

MCA CENTRAL DELEGATES

1.The MCA Central Delegates would have to make a very difficult decision in the coming MCA Central Committee election. This is because they are well aware that the political rivals of MCA like PKR and DAP are waiting to see what kind of leaders are they going to choose.

2.They know that they must choose leaders who can match the leaders from the rival parties when facing the people in the general election. Just like in a boxing match, the 'weight' of the contenders must be compatible before you can think about winning.

3.A wrong choice would surely benefit the political rivals. Wise leaders are always a threat to the rivals.

4.The MCA Central Delegates are all wise people. They would use their wisdom to choose leaders who are wise so that their party would prevail before the tribunal of the people.

ANTS AND SUGAR

1.Ants are fragile physically but are powerful instinctively. They have a place in nature because of their infallible instinct to detect the presence of sugar.

2.Ants are always on the move. Tirelessly roaming around covering wide area of land searching for sugar. Once sugar is found instantaneously they would get together.

3.Knowing this nature of ants men could easily control their lives. When sugar is left in the East, ants would go to the East. And when sugar is left in the West, ants would move to the West.

4.This blind sugar loving instinct of ants could lead to their preservation and also could lead to their destruction. Instinct without reason could be fatal.

POSITION AND POWER

1.We are not unfamiliar with reports in the media concerning elections in political parties. A member of a political party appears to be very keen in getting a position in his political party. This is true both in the ruling parties and the opposition parties.

2.It appears that there is a link between heads of Government and heads of political parties.

3. Government position in the wider sense includes all kinds of public positions maintained by public funds.

4.Position brings power. Political power is the power to make law and to enforce the law. So, it is surely against the will of the people to equate power with pecuniary benefits.

5.Ants get together when there is sugar. Men get together when there is happiness.

6.In the pursuit of happiness men get together and organise themselves as leaders and followers. Their relationship takes the form of a pyramid. Leaders occupy the higher position, while the followers occupy the lower position. However, when the foundation is gone, the whole pyramid collapses. Therefore leaders must always ensure that their followers remain where they are. While an Egyptian pyramid is held in place by concrete, human pyramid is held in place by happiness.

7.Many party members believe that the relationship between party position and Government position is just like a two-storey building. The ground floor represents party position and the first floor represents Government position.

8.We need competition in order to progress. But competition must be healthy and must be done for the sake of the people. Money politics should not be allowed to exist at all costs.

WE RULE OURSELVES

1.In a democratic society the people choose the Government to manage the affairs of the people. The power is in the hand of the people.

2.It is the people who decide what kind of society they want. Only after making this decision, the people would proceed to choose the suitable Government to implement their will.

3.It is not the Government that decide what kind of society the people should live in. May be this is true in the days of our ancient ancestors where the king decides how his subjects should live.

4.If the people are good, they would surely choose a good Government. And if the people are bad, they would surely choose a bad Government. Thieves would choose one of them as leader.

5.The people must now take the lead.

MODERN PEOPLE CAN TEACH MODERN LEADERS

1.In ancient China, the leaders were generally regarded as wiser than the people. The leaders were educated and knowledgeable while the people were uneducated and ignorant. So in such a situation, the leaders decide and the people follow.

2.In modern days, this is no longer true. the people are now educated and knowledgeable. And if education and knowledge is the criterion, the people should be able to lead themselves, and leaders are no longer necessary.

3.Even if we the people still need leaders, we should not forget that we are wiser than our leaders. The people are more, the leaders are less. Therefore the people are more wise, the leaders are less wise. The more wise teach, the less wise learn.

4.We should change the way we think. It is never late. If it is late, still, it is better late than never.

PROBLEMS IN POLITICAL PARTIES

1.Lately, it has been reported quite frequently in the local newspapers about problems in political parties. Both in the ruling parties and in the opposition.

2.Some would say that this is something unnatural. If political parties are involved endlessly in internal disputes there would be no time left for other beneficial activities. The lack of these activities would slowly weaken the parties which may finally be rejected by the people.

3.However, some of us may argue that this us something natural. You need to have healthy competition to progress. The incompetent is replaced by the competent. The bad is replaced by the good. The party thus reformed would emerge stonger.

4.I believe that this is something natural. If men as individuals are involved in endless disputes, men in groups would not behave differently. A political party is only a whole comprising of parts.

MACHIAVELLI--MORAL PHILOSOPHY

1.Machiavelli says: A prince, therefore, need not necessarily have all the good qualities I mentioned above, but he should certainly appear to have them. Machiavelli also says: A prince, then, must be very careful not to say a word which does not seemed inspired by the five qualities I mentioned earlier. To those seeing and hearing him, he should appear a man of compassion, a man of good faith, a man of integrity, a kind and a religious man. And there is nothing so important as to seem to have this last quality.

2.However, most of us may not be able to agree with Machiavelli on such an important point. It is against our values as modern men. We would feel unsafe to have bad people as our leaders. Instead of giving us protection, bad leaders would cause harm to us.

3.But some of us may think that what Machiavelli says is correct. What is important is that the people should be happy to be under his rule. It does not matter whether or not the prince has good or bad qualities. The end justifies the means.

4. Since we are the one to decide what kind of leaders we want to manage our affairs, we must be responsible in making our decision. Our decision will not only affect us, but it will also affect our children and their children and so on ad infinitum.

MACHIAVELLI--PHILOSOPHY OF CARE

1.Machiavelli says: A man who is made a prince by the favour of the people must work to retain their friendship; and this is easy for him because the people ask only not to be oppressed.

2.So,according to Machiavelli, a prince, in order to stay in power, must know how to take good care of the people, particularly, the people who have constantly given their support to the prince.

3.In order to satisfy his people, a prince must first understand the needs of his people. Aristotle is of the view that the end of life is happiness; all our activities are directed at happiness. As good living is a source of happiness, a prince must bring good living to his people. Having good children are also important to the people; therefore the prince must not neglect the welfare of the children of the people.

4.The people would not be asking for things that their prince could not give to them. They would listen to their prince because they know that whatever is being done by their prince is done for the good of the people.

5.Only a virtuous prince could live happily with his people.

MACHIAVELLI--PHILOSOPHY OF FEAR

1. Machiavelli says: From this arises the following question: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reversed. The answer is that one would like to be both the one and the other; but because it is difficult to combine them, it is far better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both.

2. Fear, then, according to Machiavelli, is an instrument of control that may be used by a king to rule his people. A king may use fear either on the majority, or the minority. If he uses fear on the majority, there is a danger that the majority may get together and caused him to be replaced. Therefore the king should not use fear on the majority. Since the minority would not have the might to challenge the king, the minority, then, may be controlled by using fear.

3. Generosity, being a kind of care, and care being the contrary of fear, could be used to win the support of the majority. But again, a king cannot be over generous, as this would soon squander all his resources. A king must reserve his resources for feeding his soldiers.

4. Soldiers are required to safeguard the position of a king. A king's position is constantly facing threats both from internal and external forces. His enemy may want to conquer his kingdom; and his unsatisfied people may want to have a new king.

5. Ants need sugar. Traditionally, soldiers are being kept by feeding them; sometimes also their families. In order to do this a king must have enough money; without money he will lose his soldiers; and consequently his position and his kingdom.

6. The rich would want to avoid chaos, because chaos would bring harm to their wealth; and on the contrary the poor would be indifferent, because they have no wealth that could be harmed. So a king must gradually bring wealth to his people because it it to his benefit to have people who are peaceful and orderly.

7. Therefore a king must know how to rule his people with care if he wants to be loved by his people.

WISDOM

1. Plato believes that his Republic should be ruled only by Philosopher Ruler. To Plato philosophers are wise men because they are all lovers of knowledge. They seek knowledge for its own sake; and for the sake of nothing else.

2. Plato also believes that we always aim at the Good in all our actions; and all our actions are merely means to this end. Happiness is the Good. We work because we need money; we need money because we need food; we need food in order to remove the pain of hunger; we want to remove pain of hunger because we want happiness.

3. According to Plato only the wise can see reality; whereas the ignorant can only see appearances. Going by this premises it is logical therefore to have wise men as your leaders. Wise man makes judgment based on reality and judgment that is based on the truth would necessarily lead to the Good. On the contrary a judgment that is based on appearances would lead to the Bad. The Bad is the contradictory of the Good.

4. The Sophists claim that everything changes endlessly; therefore nothing is permanent; and consequently knowledge is impossible. Plato countered this by introducing the Platonic Forms. An example from Geometry would help to explain what Platonic Form is. When we see many square things, we form in our mind the idea of a square. To Plato this square really exists in Heaven; which is the Platonic Form, something eternal and unchangeable.

5. Plato therefore would only accept wise men as leaders.

CAPABILITY AND TRUSTWORTHINESS:THE CRITERION

1.John Locke says: There is therefore,secondly,another way whereby Governments are dissolved,and that is;when the Legislative,or the Prince,either of them act contrary to their Trust.

2.Going by what is asserted by Locke;Governments are merely trustees;and the people are the beneficiary for whose good the trustees must act.

3.We would appoint capable and trustworthy man to be our trustee so that our interests are protected at all times. The incapable would be unable to produce the desired effect;while the untrustworthy would not act for the good of the beneficiary.

4.Just as when we are searching for a Trust Fund to grow our money,we would look for a capable and trustworthy Trust Fund Manager so that we could achieve our aim of having more money.

5.The criterion,therefore,that is being adopted by the people in appointing their Government is capability and trustworthiness. A political party which fails to understand this is unlikely to succeed.

WESTERN PHILOSOPHY-A FEW REMARKS

1.Western philosophy was made famous by great philosophers like Pythagoras,Socrates,Plato and Aristotle;just to mention a few names that may be familiar to us. The common characteristic of their method of thinking was to make inquiry and to conduct investigation on subjects that they love to know. They were searching for knowledge for its own sake; and for the sake of nothing else. Thereby they were caught in an endless search,because they were searching for something unknown to them. Also,to know is a human instinct;and instinct is not something that can be satisfied.

2.Early challenges to these philosophers came from the Sophists. Protagoras and Gorgias were among the great names at that time. The Sophists claim that all that we human can know are things reported by our senses;nothing beyond this. Even so,we have no ability to tell whether those things reported by our senses are true or false. Gradually thinkers following this line of thinking are being labelled as the Sceptics. Some of them have even taken the extreme position by saying that knowledge is impossible;but obviously this is self-defeating.

3.Next came Descartes. Descartes challenges the Sceptics by introducing: I think, therefore I am. From here Descartes took philosophy back again to endless search. And Bertrand Russell considers Descartes to be the father of modern philosophy.

4.But this endless search is far from being useless. It may well be the cause for the West to emerge as the leader of this World.

M.C.A.CENTRAL COMMITTEE

1. The MCA Central Committee is the highest governing body of a political party called MCA.

2. The members of MCA Central Committee are being elected by the MCA members through the Central Delegates once in every three years. The last election was in 2008 and the next election is due in 2011.

3. However, in the event that two-third or more of the elected members of the Central Committee shall at any time cease to be members of the Central Committee, there shall be an election of the Central committee in accordance with Article 41 of the MCA Constitution.

4.21 members are the aforesaid two-third.

5. It is reported that 13 members have now submitted their letters of resignation.

6. But the requirement of Article 41 has not been fulfilled as yet.

7. Another 8 members are required.

8. The act of resignation is not entirely at the absolute discretion of the said members. From the point of view of trust, the members of the Central Committee are trustees of the MCA members. As trustees they ought to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries.

1 MALAYSIA

1.1 Malaysia has been launched not long ago by our Prime Minister.

2.One is Unity.Many is Plurality.Clearly therefore our Prime Minister is calling for the unity of the people.

3.The benefit of living in unity is self-evident.The ants and the bees seem to understand this clearly.If we are in fact rational animal,we should be the expert in this art of living together in absolute harmony.

4.By definition,leaders lead and followers follow.

5.In ancient China all wars were started by the warlords and the people were the helpless victims.I believe that our leaders are unlike the ancient warlords;1 Malaysia is the proof.

Happy Chinese New Year

新年快乐,虎年行大运.

Happy Chinese New Year.